OK, who watched the slow motion trainwreck that was the premiere of Saturday Night Live?

I'm a big fan of the show and wow, what a stinker. The absense of Jimmy Fallon, who did a lot of writing for sketches on the show, is definitely being felt. He's also been replaced on Weekend Update by Amy Poehler, who is good in sketches but wasn't comfortable at the desk. I don't see it working out for W-U this year. I was expecting Seth Meyers to sit at the desk, and I'd even go for Will Forte or Chris Parnell...

The intro ran 12 minutes long and was a parody of the presidential debate. Seth Meyers played Kerry, Will Forte played Bush, and Parnell played the moderator. All were not funny, and I'd love to have been in the room when it was decided that this would be the opening sketch. Forte went on about how Iraq was "hard work...it's hard" and then beat the joke to death for the next 10 minutes. Terrible stuff.

The sketches were all really lame. BAAAAAAAAAAD premiere for SNL. Nobody stepped up, and they seemed to be relying on big doses of what worked in the past in small doses. It came off as really desperate.

Only the monologue was pretty good, when Alec Baldwin walked out to do a bit with Ben Affleck, who was this week's host. Baldwin is comedy gold, strangely enough. Even Affleck couldn't stop from laughing at times.

Chill couldn't be more correct about SNL. I love Amy P, but she was just not ready for the WU chair. The opening skit took WAY too long.

I was really upset with the Debbie Downer skit. The last time I saw it, it was during the episode with Lindsey Lohan. Perhaps it was because the performers were cracking up, but the skit was gold. This time, the jokes were almost all flat and they really wasted a terrific premise.

There was too much focus on Bush/Kerry, and little on other topics. Ben Affleck was okay, but he was really only funny when he portrayed James Carville.

Oh, and Nelly was pretty bad as well, especially during the second "song."

The original Debbie Downer skit worked (with the audience) because everybody was trying hard not to screw up and were failing miserably. My beef with that sketch is that everybody talks about how genius it is, but how is messing up and going out of character genius?

The opening sketch was painful to watch. Neither man does a particularly good impression of either candidate, and the writing was, as stated, awful. I turned it off, came back a few minutes later (hoping to see the host), and it was still going!

SNL lost all its playmakers. I stopped watching regularly when Will Ferrell left, and nobody's really doing anything for me in the cast right now.

The only "high points" for me, were the aforementioned Carville bit (complete with Clinton cameo), Dr. Porkenheimer's bonerjuice, and Tony Soprano's take on New Jersey's gay governor.

Other that that? Not much to speak of....

The debate opener was terrible. I liked the fact that they hit both candidates, but they went after the wrong things. The actual debate set up a comedy skit on a tee for them, what with the candidates reactions to each other.

If they were going to go after actual mannerisms, they needed better impersonators (or Will Ferrel).

Anyone else notice Don Pardo screw up and almost call Will Forte Will Farrell? Oops.

Yeah, this was not a good show by any means. I actually like Seth's Kerry, but it was run into the ground last night. I think Amy and Tina will have good chemistry once Amy settles down.

Did Finesse Mitchell and Kenan Thompson get ANY screen time? That's sad. They had some of the funnier moments from last season. The new guy was on a little bit, but what was the point of hiring someone that looks EXACTLY like Chris Parnell?

I also caught the Will Forte screwup by Pardo. I wasn't sure what he said, but it sounded to me like he said "Will Fort." I thought, "Hmmm... that's strange. Perhaps Will decided to change the pronounciation of his name from Fort-ay to Fort?"

One thing I forgot before was that Affleck did have a good little segment on the Weekend Update, responding to buddy Matt Damon's comments in the press last week.

It's sad that the only real highlight was Darrell Hammond as Bill Clinton in the Carville/Kerry sketch. What happens to this show when he finally leaves? Forte's Bush is okay, a better impression than Ferrell did, but Will had a better, much funnier character of Bush that can never, ever be topped. Meyers' Kerry is okay, but not much more.

The monologue with Alec Baldwin was good, if nothing special. Debbie Downer was just that, a downer, as previously mentioned. Not only was the cast able to compose themselves, but the lines weren't as harsh. There was no, "It's official...I can't have children!" which was the line that blew Dratch away the most in the first sketch. The emphasis on the sound effects (especially the meow version for feline AIDS) was pathetic.

Poehler on Update...eh. Me loves me some Amy love, but it's an odd fit. Seth, though predictable, would have worked better. As mentioned, the Affleck segment was good, and Gandolfini's cameo was sweet.

I thought the show sucked as well, but I pretty much expected it. The show was already horrible last year. The only person I thought was funny at all last season was Tina Fey on Weekend Update and I thought with Fallon gone that would be an improvement because Tina could go solo. But no, they have to suck it up even worse by adding Amy Poehler.

I was at work and only caught bits and pieces of the show. Affleck as James Carville was hilarious, especially the way Affleck nailed the "look like you are smelling shit" face/

Amy Pohler is simply horrid. I dont understand the hype. Every female on the cast is funnier. Several guys on the cast would be better in the WU chair (Forte or Parnell). She is every chick I ever took a drama class with. Same delivery for 90% of her "charectors" and just is not funny.

Originally posted by JMShapiroAmy Poehler is the funniest female ever on the show.

Can I have some of what you're smoking? Seriously, can I?

I mean you have to have been ingesting some really primo stuff if you think Amy Poehler is the funniest female ever on SNL. I'm not sure how I'd rank them, and that would be an evil list treadjack, but I can readily think of several females I'd rank over her.

Tim

People who say they don't "play politics" merely play politics badly. -- David Drake

They're probably not very funny, I bet? I mean, when I say ever, I really meant since I started watching 15 years ago, so it's possible that the olds are really hilarious. But prior to the current four there hadn't been a funny woman on that show from the 1990s through present. Well, I guess Janeana Garofalo and Sara Silverman are funny (by the lower standards for girls), but they weren't funny on the show. The Molly/Cheri/Ana trio in particular was three of the most horrific people imaginable so I really hope you didn't readily think of them. But you are older than I so maybe you're going way back.

What has Amy Pohler EVER done on the show that was funny?Really, I cannot think of a single thing she has EVER done on the show that even made me smirk, let alone laugh. She has "theater voice" all the time. Talking loudly, in a high pitched voice, with wide eyes and nodding at the end of most of your sentences isnt "FUNNY" its "OVERACTING".

To assert she is the funniest ever is so blatantly ignorant to the history of the show, perhaps you shouldnt be making statements at all.

Well, it's all a matter of opinion. I like Amy in certain sketches, and she doesn't look out of place on the show. Her high energy level and that touch of crazy she's got make her a great part of the cast. But personally, I think Rachel Dratch has been the best overall talent on the show since Farrell left.

Fred Armison and Keenan (sp?) Thompson are the two best unknown players on the cast. Scratch that, they're underused secret weapons. Armison surprised the HELL out of me at times last season. His Native American character who appears on WU every now and then confused me at first and then had me rolling each time after that he showed up. Having Fallon there to laugh at the act didn't hurt either. Keenan is wicked funny as well, so it's a shame nobody's taking advantage of that by putting him in any sketches. Then again, if you've read the book Live From New York, you know that it's very cutthroat at SNL amongst the writers and cast. Many people had a hard time getting into sketches because others felt too threatened. I highly recommend everyone who's a fan of SNL go buy/borrow the book.

I'm starting to worry about Principal Lewis being overused, but he was more of a supporting character in this plotline, so I was ok with it. Really, this was all about Stan living his odd dream of being a best man.